Colonie, NY, Firefighters Handle Two 'Chromebook Challenge' Fires in Two Days

    May 16, 2025
    “I don't think the kids know the dangers they’re putting themselves in and other students,” Fuller Road Fire Chief Michael Romano Jr. said.

    Fire officials are warning about the dangers associated with the latest trend on social media -- the Chromebook Challenge

    There have been more than 20 laptop fires across New York recently.

    “I don't think the kids know the dangers they’re putting themselves in and other students,” Fuller Road Fire Chief Michael Romano Jr. told 6CBS. 

    The chief said firefighters responded to two incidents this week at Colonie Central High School Thursday morning, the second this week.

    It didn't burn as rapidly as the first one. 

    At a high school in Latham, NY on Wednesday, seven students were treated after someone stuck an object into a laptop.

    “They don’t burn like your couch, pillow or blanket, they burn very rapidly and again the gases they put off are very toxic, it doesn’t take a lot of the toxic gas to make someone sick,”  Romano explained.

     

    About the Author

    Susan Nicol | News Editor

    Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues. 

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